Review: Heacket Heated Jacket Brings All the Warmth and Little Bulk

It’s not often that I get a chance to get my mitts on a product before it’s actually launched. Such was the case when the folks behind the Heacket reached out to me and asked if I wanted to try out one of their jackets. After confirming that they lacked samples in a size that would fit me, I opted to get a women’s medium for my daughter to try out to save my voice from yelling at her about wearing her thin hoodie everywhere only to complain about being cold five minutes after we step outside.

You see the problem is that my daughter is EXTREMELY stubborn (she gets it from her mom) and doesn’t like thick, puffy jackets. She would wear that hoodie all the time, even when it’s in the single digits with wind and snow everywhere if I let her. As soon as the Heacket turned up at my door I showed it to her. I expected a war, she loves that hoodie but once she saw just how thin the jacket was, she was game.

When I showed her the hidden battery pocket and how the battery controlled three different heating zones inside the jacket all she had to saw was “WOAH… that’s technology right there.” She remarked that it felt just like her fancy heated blanket, and it does. As it turns out the Heacket showed up just when we got a significant amount of snow here in Colorado and we headed out for a day of sledding with my daughter wearing only the soft shell Heacket over her normal short-sleeved shirt.

My daughter isn’t one to hold back her feelings about anything, if she is cold she will tell you (repeatedly). I was concerned that the thin Heacket might be too little for the weather. The day we were sledding it was sunny, but we had temps of around 20ºF with winds gusting up to 20 mph.

We cranked the battery up to full blast, put on her gloves and sent her off to sled. We stayed outside for about three hours in the chill and she never once got cold, at least her torso never got cold. We need some Heacket pants too. The battery promises to be good for about six hours of use per charge and that jibes well with what we saw in use.

The Heacket’s battery has adjustments for controlling the heat output so you can tailor warmth to your personal preferences and the current weather conditions. The hood is removable using a simple zipper on the back of the neck, and there are zippered pockets on each side of the jacket for warming hands, as well as and a drawstring on the bottom to keep out the wind and help capture the heat generated by the heating panels.

The jacket appears to be very well made with waterproof zipper up the front. It reminded me very much of my rather expensive REI wind/rain jacket in build quality. My daughter is what I call a flopper, she flops in the snow constantly and fell off her sled approximately each time she rode it down the hill. No water ever made its way into the Heacket, even when the snow was falling fiercely that night and she was out walking her dog.

The big upside for anyone who hates thick, puffy jackets is that the Heacket is very thin, yet every bit as warm as your thick jackets, as long as you have battery power. If you plan on using this for long periods outdoors, I would definitely pick up a second battery pack for $39. We also found that you need a helper if you want to keep the jacket on and adjust the battery or remove it from your pouch. Do that inside before you go outdoors, or brave the cold for a few seconds, and you can make adjustments on your own.

The Heacket is on Indiegogo right now and has raised well over its $10,000 goal with 22 days to go on the campaign. I can say that the $119 price tag is money very well spent if you spend time outdoors and want a high-quality, thin and very warm jacket that is wind and waterproof.